A big thanks to Romance Junkies for letting me hang out with you all today.

I thought I’d talk a bit about one of my favorite subjects. Sex. I make no bones over the fact that I enjoy writing it, and I think the key to writing love scenes effectively is being comfortable with the subject matter. But what plays an even bigger part for me is being able to really get into my character’s heads during those scenes. Writing from the hero’s point of view can be a challenge sometimes, but one I absolutely enjoy. When the hero is calling the shots, I know that sexy things are on the horizon, and the heroine better be ready to have her panties rocked off!

I think that as female readers, we tend to let the hero get away with a lot more sexually than the heroine, and that particularly holds true with dirty talk in the bedroom. I’ll admit it, I’m a big fan of the dirty talk. Love to read it and love to write it. Almost all of my heroes have a tendency to use it during intimate times with their ladies. But I don’t just employ it for the raunch factor or to titillate. I view it as a dose of reality, since the majority of men don’t tend to speak in flowery terms. That’s a huge part of the draw for me when writing in the hero’s voice. After all, there’s something incredibly sexy about a man who will tell his lady love in precise, explicit terms exactly what he plans to do to her in bed. Or in the shower, on the kitchen counter, backseat of the car…Well, you get the picture. Regardless, writing heroes with wonderfully dirty minds is always a fun part of my job as an author.

In my newest release, Checking It Twice, I got to play around with two heroes who are hardwired to like sex with an edge—a voyeur and an exhibitionist. It was a combination that worked well for this book because together, Kevin and Nick were exactly what my heroine, Jana, needed to fully embrace her own exhibitionistic tendencies. In their own way, both heroes were complex characters to create. Kevin comes with a ton of baggage from a complicated past that ultimately burdens him with guilt over his voyeuristic desires. Nick, on the other hand, is extremely comfortable in his own skin as an exhibitionist. No pun intended. There are certainly some steamy, erotic and uninhibited scenes in this book, but there’s also a strong focus on the emotional aspects for Kevin, Jana, and Nick as they explore the dynamics of their unconventional relationship.

This book truly was a combination of my favorite things: Hot sex with a sweet, emotional edge. Complex, imperfect characters on an emotional journey. And a pair of dirty talking heroes. Christmas is about to get sexy, y’all!

So how about you? Do you like your love scenes on the explicit and smexy side with frank language? Or do you prefer more flowery or even left behind closed doors?

Giveaway Details: Jodi will be gifting a small Kindle Fire to one randomly drawn commenter from the entire tour.

I definitely like the explicit. the behind closed doors and flowery language just makes me snicker or bored. I think the more explicit and smexiness, with real language is just more natural.
June
manning_J2004 at yahoo dot com